Dreams of the End
by gracefuldays
Summary: What seems to be ordinary routine turns into something horrible... will the guys be able to save the day once again? - Definitely an E/J fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

_(Old piece I wrote and published on the RGBfanfic yahoo group back in 2006. Thanks to Tammey for beta reading it! )_

**Prologue: Thursday, May 8****th****, 6 p.m.**

What seemed to be ordinary routine had turned into something horrible.

That morning they had been called to control a pair of beautiful ancient earrings just donated by a certain student to a certain department of the New York University, but that is another story.

What we need to know is that those beautiful golden earrings turned out to be haunted by a really nasty entity from Persia. And that really nasty entity from Persia had followed the four Ghostbusters home.

"Damn!" muttered a tired Peter under his breath, "I can't take much more of this. Egon!"

Egon's head emerged from under Janine's desk: "We are nearly done! Keep distracting it!"

"Easy for you to say, you're safe under a desk!" cried the psychologist while bending to avoid a blast of pure energy.

Winston covered him by hitting the evil fairy with a precise proton stream "We don't need any 7-foot-tall evil fairies! What happened to the small and good ones?"

"Ready!" screamed Ray, coming out from behind the cover of the desk. "Time to end this!" Ray aimed the powered destabilizer at the entity. "Let's test this new baby!"

The device shook and screeched, then shot a sphere of red energy right in the evil fairy's chest. At the same time, Winston, Peter and Egon blasted the unlucky fairy with full streams. After a couple of minutes of struggling, the trap Janine had thrown captured it.

Before being engulfed into the trap's white light it cried, "This won't end here! Ahriman will take his revenge on you, mortal, he will…" its voice faded away.

"Yeah! I got it, guys!" the redhead cried in triumph as she got up from the floor.

"Finally, it's all over…dibs on the first shower," yawned a really tired Peter.

"You're right, I don't wanna see a ghost for at least the next three we-" Winston was interrupted by a horrible scream from inside the trap as a bullet-shaped bolt of light went out, bouncing off the pole and aimed right at the secretary's head.

"GET DOWN!" Egon threw himself on an astonished Janine as everyone hit the ground. The last thing Egon felt was a piercing pain, then it all went dark.

**Sunday, May 11****th ****, 9:30 a.m.**

Oh, God, it felt so unreal…like time had stopped, and it felt like my heart had too.

This morning we all were there, listening to his mother's speech. I couldn't help crying.

Her eyes. Her eyes were red and swollen, but at the same time dry and full of silent pain.

Everyone applauded at the end of the speech.

I was standing right next to Dr.V, embracing him. His face was pale, eyes reddened, no tears left to cry, a hand absently stroking my hair. He had already cried all the tears he had in that damned hospital room.

Then we all stood up and formed a long queue. The blond woman held out a white rose and let it fall onto the coffin as the gravediggers lowered it into the grave. The moment the rose hit the coffin lid, she fell unconscious to the ground. Fortunately her brother-in-law was there to catch her. Peter and Winston rushed and helped Uncle Cyrus take a senseless Mrs. Spengler to his car. Poor woman, this was just too much for her.

I hesitated a moment, then let my red rose slip from my hand and into the open tomb and, as tears started to gather again at the corner of my eyes, I quietly went away from that place. As soon as I was far enough, I just let myself crouch under a willow tree and rested my head against my knees.

Egon had died. And it felt like a part of me had too.

**Sunday, May 11****th****, 10:30 p.m.**

Later that night Winston drove me home. I didn't want to be alone, but there was nothing left for me to do at the firehouse, and the guys needed some rest. Yeah, as if any of them would be sleeping tonight, unless they use the bottle of those mild sleeping pills the guys kept in the bathroom cabinet.

I opened my apartment door, closed it, undressed and threw myself on the couch. Why this had happened? He did not deserve to die like this. "It's not right," I thought as the last sip of vodka ran down my throat. I put the empty bottle on the floor and let darkness come over me as I fell asleep.

**Saturday, May 10****th****, 8:00 a.m.**

"Hyaaah! Try that again and I'll kill you!"

It was 8.00 a.m. and Egon had silently slipped a couple of ice cubes into a sleeping Peter's pajamas. In no time Peter erupted from his bed, mayhem in mind, and started chasing his friend. After a couple of minutes of happy chasing, Peter saw the blond physicist stop dead and curl on himself, shaking. "Hey, a-are you alright?"

It all happened in a few instants. One moment he was running for his life, the next second everything went dark. _A white rose,_ _the cry of a woman. A pink butterfly._ Egon shut his eyes closed and felt cold -inside-. Then a warm hand touched his shoulder. As quick as the vision came, it went away again. Opening his eyes he saw Peter's worried face and heard his distressed voice: "Hey, a-are you alright?"

"I-I suppose so…" was all his startled mind could produce.

"Okay, you already played the 'let's scare Dr.V game' last Thursday, so don't go there again please." Peter tried to make his tone as light as he could, so his worry wouldn't show. It wasn't a good idea to upset Egon more than he evidently was.

"What happened?" asked Ray, entering the room. "How do you feel, Egon?"

An arm came around Egon's waist. "Yo, man, you look terrible! Let's just lay you down on the couch and it'll be okay."

"Really, Winston…guys…I'm all right. I just felt…dizzy," the blond man said feebly.

"You still _are_ dizzy, big guy," Peter gently pointed out as the three of them led him toward the living room.

In a minute his friends had him laid out on the couch with his feet up and drinking some hot tea. He was feeling so…well, he didn't know exactly how to define it. The warmth of the tea definitely brought him back to life and, after clearing his voice, he spoke: "Thank you. It's over now; but I made you worry again, didn't I?"

"No problem-o. Hey, you should've known that wounded heroes shouldn't be running around like that. Not after a number like the one you did on Thursday," said Peter playfully. Egon was glad to see that Peter's face was relaxed again.

"Peter's right," Ray put in. "You need rest. Why don't you catch a little nap?"

He did not have time to finish his sentence before Egon was sound asleep.

_A pink butterfly. Red roses falling. A white one too. A woman was crying. Was that his mother? No, why should his mother cry like that? Something resting on his shoulder caught his attention: it was the butterfly. A tiny voice spoke into his head: "Don't let him take his revenge. Go…or it will be too late."_

When he woke up it was already noon and a delicious smell was coming from the kitchen. Slowly getting up, Egon tried to remember his strange dream, but nothing came to his mind except a feel of utter anguish. Peter's voice cut through his thoughts: "How's our Sleeping Beauty doing? Waking up right in time for lunch, hm?"

Egon could sense a hint of worry in his best friend's voice and immediately reassured him: "I am completely restored now. Probably this morning I was just tired, last night this arm ached a bit."

Peter's green eyes widened: "Someone who had nearly died a couple of days ago shouldn't be running like that. That energy bolt…" He looked away.

"That bolt of energy could have pierced my heart, but it didn't," Egon completed the psychologist's sentence, catching his eye again. "It didn't happen. I'm here, sore but alive."

"Lunch is ready!" yelled a happy Ray from the other room.

"Glad to have you here still in one piece," said Peter, hugging him lightly, so he wouldn't hurt Egon's bandaged arm. The brown-haired man's face lit up again as he headed for the kitchen, where Slimer was already under the table, ready to steal his meal.

* * *

_A room. A hospital room. Things scattered, and blood everywhere. A body was lying on the bed, covered by white sheets except for a hand that dangled down._

_Janine slowly walked to the bed and took that hand in both of hers. She had no need to remove the sheets to know whose hand it was. Tears came again, but she fiercely fought them back. Squeezing that hand, she brought it to her face, resting her left cheek into its warm palm. _

"_Warm?" she thought. At the same time, the hand moved, gently caressing her face with its thumb as the other hand had emerged from under the sheets and removed them, revealing the rest of the body. Here he was, warm and alive._

"_Egon…" she breathed._

_The man looked her into her blue eyes for a long moment before holding her tight to his bare chest. Then he whispered, "What happened to you? What?"_

Then it all got confused as she found herself lying on her couch. Taking a long sip of vodka from another bottle, Janine tried to water down her emotional pain.


	2. Chapter 2

**Saturday, May 10th , 5:50 p.m.**

"Really, you shouldn't come along on this bust in your condition, this one seems pretty nasty!" said Ray, putting his jumpsuit on.

"There is no need to worry, Ray. I am capable of taking care of myself," Egon replied, changing batteries of his beloved meter.

"Yeah, just like that time you nearly got hit by a bus." Peter's voice came from his office. "But I must say that my favorite incident still was when you fell into an open manhole-"

"Okay, okay…I get the point. I'll stay in Ecto and take readings. Is this all right with you, doctor?"

A few minutes and they were ready to go. Passing by Janine's desk, Ray stopped. "Hey, what about Janine? I'm sure she took only one day off. She should've been here by now."

"No big deal, we cut her salary," Peter put in with a cocky grin.

"Really, Peter, this is strange. It's 6 p.m. and she should have been here two hours ago. Five years Janine's worked for us and she's always used to call when she needed more time off," Winston added.

"I don't like this," said Egon anxiously and automatically went for the small yellow phonebook Janine kept into a drawer of her desk 'just in case', as she would have said. In the meantime, Winston had already swung around the phone and dialed Janine's home number. No answer. Then Egon tried calling Janine's parents. The last they had heard from her was on Thursday night.

"We all were tired on Thursday night. She may have forgotten she took only one day off, she's probably convinced she took two of them," said Ray, fidgeting with the nice address book.

"Listen to me, guys," Winston suggested. "Mr. Smith's place is near Janine's neighborhood. We go catch Mr. Smith's ghost, then we go to her place and find out what happened. Sound good?"

xxx

They soon found out the ghost was nothing but an ordinary class2 gooper that didn't really like Mr. Smith's furniture. Indeed, it started throwing chairs and books everywhere, especially at the four Ghostbusters, which made the job ten thousand times nastier. It took them forty minutes, eight chairs, a precious Murano vase and an entire encyclopedia to trap the little blob of purple slime. An angry Mr. Smith "greeted" them right outside his devastated house. "I'm really _glad_ you have busted the little bastard-"

"Yes, we already know we're good at our work…let's talk about business," started Peter as the other three went to Ecto to put the equipment back. The strange sensation in their stomachs was becoming stronger. Two minutes later Peter joined them, holding a considerable check in his hand. "Now, gentlemen, we are ready to go," he said, but without his usual enthusiasm.

Something was really wrong.

xxx

Janine's home was no more than six blocks away. Winston parked Ecto in a no-parking zone right under her windows, then they all got out and Egon rang the bell. No answer. Another ring. Nothing.

"Maybe we should have tried to phone again," Ray put in, but the strong displeasing feeling had already caught their stomachs, knotting them tightly.

"Lemme try again." Peter fiercely rang the doorbell, but still got no answer. "Okay, then. Key!" he ordered, mimicking the moves of a surgeon. The blond man took his bunch of keys out from his pocket and in no time they all had reached Janine's apartment, five floors up. Peter slowly inserted the first key, and then the second…tension was devouring them. Finally the fifth lock was unlocked and the door opened with a slight creaking sound.

Doors and windows were shut; everything was in order and the daylight gently filtered through the light blue curtains.

"I really don't like this," said Egon firmly as he turned on his meter.

"Yep. Those curtains are a kick in the pants," Peter added, trying to break the tension of the moment.

The meter remained silent for a few seconds, then went wild. "T-that's not possible! These readings-get down!" They threw themselves to the floor as Egon launched the meter through the nearest window with all his strength. She shattering of the glass was overshadowed by the noise of the meter when it exploded outside.

"Shit," muttered Winston under his breath.

"All right, gentlemen. There are three rooms in this apartment: kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. I suggest one person stays here in the living-room while the others check the rooms," said Egon while adjusting another meter.

"I got dibs on the kitchen. Why don't you go check the bedroom, Egon, honey?" asked Peter mischievously.

"Why should he-" started Ray.

"You're still too young for these things, Tex. C'mon, go check the bathroom, okay?" Winston cut in. "I'll stay here."

"Not funny," muttered the physicist.

xxx

Peter unceremoniously kicked open the door to the kitchen and turned on the light. The kitchen was silent. "Yoo-hoo? Melnitz, are you in there?" He looked under the table and even into the fridge-just in case Zuul had chosen to pass the weekend in it. "Yo, guyysss! Nothing's-" He was interrupted by a startled yell from one of the other rooms.

At the same time, Ray had just finished checking the bathtub and was now surveying the floor. The yell caught him unprepared and made him bonk his head against the sink.

xxx

As Egon touched the knob, the door opened. The room was dark and strangely cold; at first sight everything seemed to be in order. Then, in the shadows he sensed a sprawled form on Janine's twin bed. The knot in his stomach became even tighter than it already was and his hand reached hastily for the light switch. He was heartbroken at the sight and an involuntary yell slipped through his half-opened mouth.

"JANINE!" In a blink of time, he had reached her on the bed and had taken her naked body into his arms. Egon's hands trembled as he ran a finger over her neck, searching for a pulse.

xxx

The first thing the other Ghostbusters saw as they came running into the room was Egon's figure kneeled on the bed, holding the unconscious woman. "Wha-Ohmygosh!" Ray ran to the bed, Peter and Winston hot on his heels. Janine was naked and unmoving, her eyes closed and the pale face was lined with dried tears and melted make up.

"She's alive," Egon breathed. "There is no evidence of wounds or breaks… but she's feverish…"

Peter easily noticed how much effort his friend was putting into keeping his voice steady; this woman meant so much to him. Peter sat on the bed and gripped Egon's shoulder with a firm hand.

"Christ, Ray, go call 911! Quick!" urged Winston. "I'll go look for some blankets!"

Egon absently said, "Blankets are in the wardrobe, third shelf on the right."

"Egon," Peter cautiously ventured, "do you think she's been…"

Egon's eyes grew bigger at the suggestion-he hadn't thought of _that_, he didn't want to think _that_- "I-I don't know…I don't think…there is no sign of…of …God, Peter…"

Peter tightened the grip on Egon's shoulder, then let go to help Winston stretch out a green blanket over Janine. "She'll be all right, we'll get the bastard who did this in no time," he whispered into the blond's ear before letting go.

Egon shifted more comfortably under her, lifting Janine up in an almost sitting position in his lap, her head leaning into the base of his neck. He gripped her blanket-clad body and held her tight, though his right arm throbbed in pain. "What happened to you? " he softly whispered in her ear. "What?"

**Monday, May 12th, 11:30 a.m.**

A sunny day's light gently caressed my face. As I came to my senses I felt the bittersweet taste of vodka in my mouth and a sickening sensation coming from inside. In a rush I erupted from the couch, got to the bathroom and proceeded to empty my stomach into the toilet. As I shakily stood up the world turned around me and, missing the sink by inches, I fell to the floor and cried in pain and frustration. As I kneeled, the pair of sharp scissors I kept in the glass cabinet caught my attention. Escape seemed so desirable a chance. Yes, just a little pain, then…

The phone brought me back to reality. At first my brain didn't even register the annoying ring, but then it brought me back to reality. "This could be the guys," I thought, carefully trying to stand up from the icy floor. "Please don't hang up, don't hang up…"

The phone rang and rang and the moment I snatched up the receiver, whoever had called hung up. "Damn!" I muttered, plopping down on the bed. On the twin bed. _Our _bed. Sudden memories of warmth and love came from the back of my mind. Fighting the tears, I rose and dressed. "No time to mourn, Melnitz," I said aloud. "The guys need you."

The sun hurt my eyes as I walked out of the building and into the car. New York traffic seemed like a blessing that morning: I didn't want to go to the firehouse, didn't want to see that place again, and didn't want to see the guys. The thought of it made my soul ache, but they were my friends and needed me to be there for them. Peter most of all.

I still had his distressed face in my head, and knew that it would have taken time for him to let go and share his pain with the rest of us. Then there's Winston. The guy's really a piece of rock. 'Nam made him like this; he's seen lots of friends die. He didn't deserve this, no one would. And Ray, oh, poor Ray…yesterday there he was, crying on Winston's shoulder. Shit Egon, why has this happened to you? Why?


	3. Chapter 3

**Saturday, May 10th, 9 p.m.**

It took half an hour for the paramedics to arrive, and they took Janine away while her neighbors gathered on the stairs out of pure curiosity. When they finally got to the hospital, two long hours passed before a doctor came out of the examination room.

Peter noticed how gorgeous this woman was. Despite being in her forties, her silhouette was slim and elegant, and her long hair was gathered up in a bun, with a stray lock of voluptuous black hair framing her pretty face. Her lips parted as she introduced herself:

"I'm Doctor Karen Chant. I've just finished visiting Miss Melnitz and have the results of her analysis." Since Egon was the one nearest to her, she addressed him directly, but Peter decided Egon wasn't up to speaking just yet and promptly slipped between the two of them.

"Dr. Venkman here, nice to meet you," he said hastily. "How is she?"

"No wounds, no signs of intoxication or traces of drugs. Her fever's gone. No need of artificial life support."

"Doctor, has she been raped?" The phrase slipped involuntarily out of Peter's mouth and pain pervaded him as he saw the blond Ghostbuster flinch in hearing those words.

"Oh, no, no. There is no trace of sexual violence. Her body's in perfect health."

"This means she's about to wake up soon?" asked a hopeful Ray.

"I don't know. She should have already awakened by now."

"What do you mean, doctor? Are you talking about…brain damage?" hazarded Egon, coming out of his silence.

"None of the exams showed that kind of damage, Doctor Spengler. As I said, she's in perfect health." She paused long enough to smooth back the rebel lock of hair out of her eye. "It just seems like her soul's…gone."

"E-excuse me?"

"Please don't think I'm crazy. I've been working here for twenty years and never saw anything like this." She nervously bit her lip. "Miss Melnitz is one of the healthiest women I've ever visited, but still something's not right at all. She seems to be sleeping but according to the EEG she should be wide awake."

"Hmmm…"

"Okay, big guy, you have one of your ideas, right?" Peter turned to look at his friend's face and was glad to see the usual look he had in his eyes when pondering a theory. "C'mon, spill it!"

"Well…I was thinking about the readings I got in the apartment before the meter exploded. I almost forgot them. They were of a Class 9."

"Yeah! I get it!" yelled Ray.

"But I don't get it, Doctor Stantz," Doctor Chant calmly said.

"It's simple! A Class 9 specter is strong enough to steal a soul, or possess a body and even to…" Ray's face fell in realization, "…oh dear!"

**Monday, May 12th, 1 p.m.**

I reached the firehouse and wearily checked the answering machine. Messages from friends, messages from the press- I deleted everything and turned the machine on again, then went up the stairs. Winston was cooking something while Ray set the table. Peter was watching a film on TV.

As I approached I tried to make as much noise as I could, to let them know I was there. Clearing my throat I said "hello" and hugged Ray and Winston. Peter didn't move from the couch, so I reached him and sat down. "Peter—" I started, but he cut me off.

"You shouldn't do that," he said abruptly, without looking away from the TV.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Drink so much." He was right. I shouldn't have, but alcohol is just the simplest way to cut your brain off in order to forget your pain. "Your face looks terrible."

"Who cares what my face looks like?" I snapped. I definitely was not in the mood for a lecture.

"The four of us do," started Peter, but then he became aware that "four" had slipped out of his lips and his face became even darker and was silent once again.

My heart broke a bit more. As I rested my face against his shoulder I quietly started to sob. After a minute I felt tears wetting my hair, so I embraced him hard and let his pain join mine.

**Sunday, May 11th, 8 a.m.**

"Oh man, this is really **bad**," said Winston, slapping a hand to his forehead.

"Are you saying that a ghost may be capable of trapping a soul inside its body?" asked Doctor Chant.

"Yes, this is what we think could have happened to our secretary," confirmed Ray, connecting wires to a machine.

"Of course, only extremely powerful entities are able to do such a thing," added Egon, too caught up into setting the machine to fill the charming doctor with his usual flow of highly scientific dissertations.

"Please be quick. Doctor Giffen gave us only two hours to try this…this…"

"…Alpha Wave Generator, Ms. Chant," completed Peter with his best Prince Charming look. "One of my best inventions, indeed."

Egon and Ray exchanged an amused look and went on setting the generator as Peter kept on playing the great inventor role. "See, Karen-may I call you Karen?"

"I don't think my husband would appreciate it, Doctor," said Karen lightly. "But as long as he's not here…"

Peter's plans for the weekend were destroyed in a second, but he kept on playing his part; he was a pro, after all. "As I was saying, Karen, this marvelous machine generates waves similar to those produced by the brain in the REM phase, simulating optimal conditions for a dream state. This allows us to project whatever's going on in Janine's mind onto this screen so we can save the day once again."

"Ready!" cut in Winston, emerging from under the machine. "Ray?"

"Everything's okay. Egon?" asked Ray in return.

"I'm done. We may start whenever you want, Doctor Venkman," concluded Egon, playing along.

"Then let's put this nice helmet on her…" said Peter, carefully slipping the helmet on Janine's head. "Done. Come on, Egon, turn her—ahem-it on."

Egon made a face at him, inserted a blank tape into the VCR hooked to the machine and pressed REC. Then he pressed the ON button. Karen Chant suppressed a yell when the first images appeared on the monitor.

A torn Janine appeared to them; she was lying on her couch in her underwear, drinking from a bottle of lemon vodka. On the floor there was another bottle, but that one was empty. They could hear her repressing a sob every now and then, and watched as she drank in silence. Half an hour later she let the bottle go and fell asleep-or unconscious-on the couch.

As her deep breaths could be heard, Ray broke the silence. "What does it mean?"

A beeping sound made them turn from the monitor. Egon had activated a meter. "Look at this, Raymond. This is real trouble."

**Monday, May 12th, 4 p.m.**

I could feel my head pulse in pain. As I woke from the bed-bed? I was in Peter's bed. He and the guys probably had put me there after I cried myself to sleep. I could smell his aftershave lingering on the pillow. The guy sure knew well how to choose a cologne. The light coming from the window hurt my eyes, so I pressed my face into the pillow. And fell asleep again.

"_What happened to you?"_

_Same __dream,__s__ame hospital room. Janine was leaning into Egon's embrace when his question hit her. Something felt wrong. "The right question i__s,__ what happened to YOU?" she said__,__ looking him straight in his eyes._

"_No. What happened to you? Why don't you wake up? Who __did this to you__?"_

"_Egon, what are you talking about? Egon?" __A__s she __spoke__, he vanished in a burst of light. The room was replaced by a __bookstore__. It seemed __to be__ an old shop, __as__spider webs__ hung from the ceiling and dust covered the __book__s on the shelves._

_A pink butterfly __alighted__ on her hand. "Hi, I'm a Peri."_

_Janine felt strangely calm __a__s a sense of peace pervaded her, radiating from the spot where the Peri was. "What are you? What does this __mean__?" Janine wanted to ask, but the Peri preceded her._

"_I'm a friend. I must protect you from his evil purpose__,__" said the butterfly._

"Him? Him who?"

"_Can't you understand? He trapped you __here;__ you must run before __it's__ too late! Run from Ahriman…"_

"…ne…Janine?…"

Someone was shaking me. That someone seemed to be a blurry Winston. "Oh, gawd… Winston, is that you?"

"Yep, it's me," answered Winston. "You scared us, sister. You've been sleeping for six hours."

"Six?" Surprise made me lift my head abruptly. "Ohhh…my head!" At the sudden pain, I sagged back and closed my eyes. Something ice-cold was gently placed on my forehead.

"This will make you feel better," said Winston. "Wait a minute and I'll bring you an aspirin."

That minute seemed like an eternity to me. Finally, I got the aspirin. "Winston, have I ever told you how much I love you?" I said, savoring the disgusting taste of the medicine. He smiled, then helped me stagger out of the bed and down the stairs, carefully blocking the view of Egon's bed with his body. He evidently didn't want to upset me more.

Downstairs we joined Peter, Ray and Ray's aunt at the kitchen table. Aunt Lois had brought some special cookies for us and offered her presence as a distraction. As I took a bite of the first, excellent cookie, a word emerged from my mind: AHRIMAN. I couldn't remember the dream at all, except for this name: Ahriman, Ahriman…

"Ray, who's Ahriman?" I asked abruptly.

Ray's face turned pale, as if I'd just hit him with my fist.

Peter's eyes widened in anger. "You just had to go there, didn't you, Miss Genius!" he snapped, then turned to the crying Ray. "Shh. Shh, Ray. It's all right."

"No, it's all right, really," said Ray feebly, wiping his involuntary tears. "She had no way to…to…know."

"To know…what?" I asked. This Ahriman clown really had to be famous.

"Ahriman…" Ray slowly continued, "…Ahriman is the Persian god of darkness. When he was powerful enough, millennia ago, he…he made fairies his slaves and used them to realize his evil plans. One of those fairies…hey, we busted one of those fairies. She's the one who…shot…" his voice trailed off as the pain hit him.

"You're saying that the bitch who shot Eg-" oh, God, it was so hard to call his name, "…the bitch who shot him was a slave of this Ahriman? Oh shit." I erupted from the chair and ran to the lab as fast as I could as the others watched me, puzzled. This mystery was starting to gain shape in my mind.

**Sunday, May 11th, 11 a.m.**

"Are you sure of what you're saying, Doctor Spengler?"

"Extremely sure, Doctor Giffen," the Ghostbuster answered, a bulk of sheet paper in his hands. "We need to keep Miss Melnitz attached to our Alpha Wave generator, this could be crucial to save her life."

Doctor Giffen scratched his bald head, then spoke. "What can I say? As a man I'd agree immediately; besides you saved my daughter's life last year. On the other hand, as a doctor, I am strongly against this. We don't know the effects of that "generator" on Miss Melnitz. Do you have anything capable of proving her health's not in danger?"

The four Ghostbusters fell silent. None of them was _that_ kind of doctor. They had no way to give him the guarantees he wanted.

"Anyway…I may turn a blind eye," he added in an undertone.

"Are you saying that…" Ray's face lit up with pure joy.

"I'll make you a deal: I'll let you keep Miss Melnitz attached to your machine, but every half an hour Doctor Chant will check on her and if there is any sign of suffering, you'll immediately switch the device off. Deal?"

"Yesss!" Peter exulted, embracing Nurse Jackson, a pretty 23-year-old student nurse who seemed to be enjoying the psychologist's attentions.

Minutes later the four Ghostbusters, Doctor Chant and the pretty nurse were in the room Janine had been carefully moved to. During their absence, they had recorded her thoughts with the modified VCR, along with her biorhythms.

Egon took out two big sheets of paper from his pile of notes. "Do you know what these are?" he asked his companions.

"Sorry, I'm not into modern art," cut in Peter: He didn't want to play '20 questions', not with Janine in danger like that. Not that he was going to admit it, but he actually loved her as the little sister his mama never gave him. And he was determined to get her back in one piece.

"Those are the diagrams of the readings we took on Thursday, right Egon?" Ray filled in helpfully.

"Correct. And look at this…" Egon produced another sheet of paper from his notebook. "These are the readings I got at Janine's apartment." Then, taking another piece of paper, he added, "And these are the readings I detected one hour ago."

"Oh, my! Those readings are the same!" said Winston in disbelief. "This means that…"

"This means that Ahriman has really come to take his revenge!" said Peter, clenching his fists.

'_Revenge_'. The word echoed through Egon's mind, then the butterfly flashed again in his head as he suddenly kneeled to the floor. _Don't let him take his revenge. _

When he came back to reality he found himself on his knees, curled tightly in on himself with his eyes shut. Breathing hard, he lifted his head and took his red glasses off, letting the midday light cuddle him in warmth.

"Twice in twenty-four hours is not a good record." The sound of Winston's voice made Egon stare at him, as it actually took him a few seconds to register the words, then the blond stood up in silence.

"You better sit down, Doctor Spengler," said Doctor Chant firmly. " Now let me check on you." As Egon regained control over himself, the doctor checked his vitals. "You should be resting right now. All this stress is no good for your arm," she concluded.

"I have no time to rest. This is really bad," he replied in a small voice. "I-I had a…vision."

"Oh, okay. First he scares us to death, then he goes completely ga-ga. What's next?"

"Sorry, Peter. I didn't mean to scare you," answered Egon gently. "But a Peri appeared to me."

"A Peri? You saw a Peri?" Ray almost jumped to the ceiling. "That's sooo _neat_!"

"A…what?" shyly asked Nurse Jackson.

"A Peri. The Peris are a type of good-natured fairies living in Persia. Their duty is to protect humans from the terrible plans of Ahriman, the god of darkness," explained the occultist.

Egon went on: "She appeared to me yesterday morning in a dream, but when I woke up I could remember nothing. When Peter mentioned the word 'revenge' it all came back to me: Ahriman evidently is about to take his revenge on the woman who trapped one of his Deevs."

"That's terrible! He's going to attack her from the _inside_? We must-" Ray began.

"What d'you mean 'from the inside'?" Winston's voice was alarmed; he had just recalled the image of Janine watching those scissors. " Are you talking about…convincing her to commit suicide?"

"Yes, I'm afraid that's correct." The physicist started jotting equations and diagrams on the notepad he kept in his jumpsuit pocket. "If my estimations are right, we may still be in time to save her."

"How?" This time it was Doctor Chant who asked.

"Simple, Karen. We connect other helmets to the Alpha Wave generator and get into Janine's mind. Then we find the bad guy and –wham!-we bust him," said Peter, putting the helmet on. "Right, big guy?"

"I'm sorry to have to contradict you," Egon calmly said, "but I'm going alone."


	4. Chapter 4

**Monday, May 12th , 5 p.m.**

"What are you doing?" a startled Ray asked me.

"I'm…looking for a store…" I answered. Shit, where did I see that damned bookstore? I found a newspaper under the lab's small sofa and started turning its pages as fast as I could. In the end, I spied a piece of paper in the fireplace. I shooed the guys with a quick gesture and hastily caught that scrap of paper like it was a runaway kitten. As I opened it I saw a big picture of the old bookshop of my vision.

"The picture of a bookstore?" asked Peter skeptically. "So what? That place had been torn down a couple of years ago."

"Torn down?" My hope to find an answer to my strange dreams flew away in no time.

"Yes. That is an article about the auction sale the owner organized when he declared bankruptcy," explained Ray, a worried look in his eyes. He probably was thinking that I had gone crazy.

"And did you buy any books in that auction?" I still had a chance.

"Yes, this one…" he said, taking a very old book from a shelf. It was leather-bound, and was written in a language I could not even read. Seeing my disappointed face, Ray added, "It is written in ancient Greek. Here's the translation." He took a huge notebook from the same shelf, and I noticed a hint of pain in his eyes as he passed it to me. Of course, I realized. Egon had handwritten the whole translation. The sight of his precise handwriting made the four of us flinch.

I paused a moment, then gathered all the courage I had left and started checking the summary as I explained my odd behavior. "Guys, it's been since yesterday evening that I've been having strange dreams. And…I cannot quite recall them. The only things I remember are the image of that book shop and two names: Ahriman and Peri…GOTCHA!" I yelled triumphantly. "Listen to this: 'Peri: a species of good-natured fairies native to Persia. Enslaved by Ahriman, they gained their freedom by helping him commit cruel deeds. Once he freed them, Ahriman allied with a race of evil fairies called Deevs, natural enemies of Peri. Since then, Peri have sworn to stop Ahriman and his servants' "

Taking my eyes from the book, I saw a big black monster enter the room.

"BEHIND YOU, GUYS!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, but I was too late.

xxx

**Sunday, May 11th, 2 p.m.**

To assemble a dimensional portal in the room and modify it to be suspended over Janine's sleeping body proved to be a very hard task. The moment everything was finished, Peter erupted with: "You shouldn't be going."

Egon stared at him for a second. "I am the most suitable to go. Since I cannot hold a thrower, I'd only be a burden to you if I stay."

A high-pitched scream came from the monitor. "Hey, the bastard is killing us!" Winston angrily said.

"He's going to catch her-we have to go!" Peter made his way toward the bed that had been brought in for their use.

"Wait, Peter! We can't risk her life like this!" Egon grabbed him by a wrist. "Let's follow our plan and let me go."

"I trust you with my life, buddy," said Peter, turning to face him. "And so does she. Go help her."

xxx

**Nowhere, sunset**

"Where am I?" Janine asked herself. One moment she was in the firehouse, the next moment she had found herself running away through a labyrinth of streets she didn't know. Peter was dead. Ray was dead. Poor Aunt Lois, too. And Winston and…

"Egon!"

She stopped dead as Egon's familiar shape stood in front of her. "No, you're dead. This is a damn trick. You're Ahriman, right? Or are you one of his Deevs?"

Egon's face melted, revealing a Deev fairy. Her sharp voice said, "You're smart, woman. Too smart, in the great Ahriman's opinion. You imprisoned one of his beloved Deevs, and now you must die. He wanted you to self-destruct in pain, but now you know too much. We'll make you pay for your insult in the most terrible way!"

Janine tried to run away, but she found herself against a wall of stone. She prepared to fight the Deev with her bare hands, but then someone threw a tear bomb and caught her hand, quickly leading her away. As she ran she could hear the evil fairy scream in anger. Several minutes later, whoever had saved her stopped and squeezed them both into a doorway under a large overhang. For the first time she looked that person right in the eye.

Scarcely holding back a scream, she violently freed her hand and fell to the ground. "You bastard!" she cried in anger, crawling away from the man. " If you want to kill me, then do it quickly! Stop playing fuckin' games!"

She stood and tried to run away, but the man launched himself at her, pinning her to the floor with all his strength. "It's me; it's Egon," hissed the man. "If you don't stay calm they'll really kill us!"

She kept on struggling. "I don't believe you! You're dead, dead!" Too weak to try anything further, she gave up and rested her face on the muddy ground. It was really over this time. Now Ahriman had her literally into his hands; the guys were all dead…it was over. "K-kill me," she breathed. "What are you waiting for?"

"We'll take you back in one piece, I promise," Egon's calm voice whispered into her ear. "Now calm down, please."

The sound of that deep voice poured like music into her head, as she realized that this was the real Egon. She was so relieved that unwanted tears fell from her eyes, but as she was about to mentally slap herself, a warm hand had already dried them. Yep, this definitely couldn't be a copy.

They lay there together on the ground for what seemed an eternity, while hundreds of Deevs flew about fifteen feet over them. When the first swarm had passed, the two of them crawled toward an alley and hid behind a dumpster. Egon took from his pocket a walkie-talkie. "Ray. Ray, talk to me."

"Egon, Ray here. I see you. You both all right?" Ray responded.

"I've found her. Starting Phase B…" Egon said hastily, turning the walkie-talkie off.

Janine pressed herself against him and asked, "What's Phase B?"

"We sit here, talk and …relax," answered the tall man, curling around her to warm her sore body.

She hugged him tight. "Relax? You must be kiddin'! There are hundreds evil fairies out there, hot for our blood!"

"Yes, relax is our first step toward safety," he said calmly, stroking her cold arms.

"Why don't we cut straight to the 'talking' part? You got an explanation for this, haven't you?"

"I'll tell you everything." He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Remember when we busted that Class 9 corporeal entity on Thursday?"

Janine shivered at the memories: "Yeah. The bitch almost freed herself from the trap and-hey, you should be dead right now. Are you going to tell me you're a ghost?"

"A ghost?" Egon asked, feeling a displeasing sensation grow inside of him.

"The Deev pierced your heart with a blast..." This time she could not hold her tears back. "It's been terrible, we could do nothing but watch you bleed to death…"

Egon's eyes widened in realization; the crying woman of his dream was really his mother. Without hesitating he turned her face to make her look into his eyes. "No, Janine," he said firmly. "The shot caught me in my arm. The ER doctor gave me stitches and discharged me that very night. Ahriman made you believe that, he's possessing your mind."

The walkie-talkie came to life. "Egon! Peter here! Can you hear me?"

xxx

As Ray kept on adjusting the dimensional portal over Janine's sleeping body, Peter jumped up from his chair and grabbed the walkie-talkie. "C'mon, C'mon! Egon, They are coming back! MOVE!" Indeed, a bunch of Deevs was approaching the alley where his two friends were. "GO AWAY!" He felt relieved as he saw the couple get up and hide inside a building as the swarm passed by.

"Peter, tell him we're almost done," said Ray. "Just another couple of screws and the portal will be ready."

"Egon, Ray says the portal's gonna be ready in a few minutes!" Peter saw his friend lift his hand in a 'thumb's up' gesture in response.

xxx

"Explanation time, Egon!" said Janine. "What's goin' on?"

"As I was saying, Ahriman took possession of your mind. What you're seeing is an illusion, a dream. You must regain control."

"Easy for you to say! How in the world am I going to…" she let herself slowly sink down to the floor. "I can't take this anymore, I'm tired, so tired…"

"No, you have to rebel! This is not you, you must fight!" He sat near her and swiped a tuft of red hair out of her face. "Close your eyes, try to relax and will it all away. Then leave the rest to Ray."

"Will you stand by me?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course." He produced one of his rare special-smiles, sending shivers down her spine. "Hold on to me and get back what's yours."

xxx

As Winston lifted the red lever up, the portal fizzled and a thin layer of blue appeared inside the frame with a ridiculous "pop". "We're ready!" Ray yelled into the walkie-talkie. Peter gave special goggles to Doctor Chant and asked Nurse Jackson to leave the room while Winston put his pack on in preparation.


	5. Chapter 5 - Epilogue

I could not believe my eyes and ears. I was not talking to a ghost. My Egon was there, in flesh and blood- alive. I've never loved the sound of the word "alive" as in that moment. I couldn't help crying. Then something from Egon's back pocket beeped. It was Peter. Peter, alive. This meant the guys were really safe. Oh joy…

As Peter tried to warn us, we started hearing the roaring rumble of a thousand miniature helicopters flying- it was the Deevs again. We ran into an abandoned building and hid inside what once had been a laundry. What then came out of Egon's mouth really shocked me.

I'm still not able to fully explain what I was feeling at the moment… relief, tiredness, anger, shock. A sudden impulse to let everything go took hold of me and I felt my body collapse. Fortunately, Egon was there for me. And Ray, Winston and Peter, too. They all were counting on me.

I tightly shut my eyes and mentally played back his words. Relax. Will the big fat bastard out of yourself, girl. Shyeah, right. Easier said than done. But…if Ahriman really was controlling me, that meant that _he_ was making me want to let go. 'No way you're going to have me!' I thought and I relaxed into Egon's warm embrace.

A wave of anguish ran through my brain, my heart started beating furiously as cold sweat fell from my feverish brow. As the noise approached again, Egon held me tighter as I collected all the strength I had left and screamed into my mind: "GO AWAY!"

**xxx**

"Understood, Doctor Chant? When I say "now", you press that button," explained Ray to the dark haired doctor. "Please, be careful. This is the only chance to get Egon back in his body. The littlest mistake and he'll be sucked into the Netherworld along with Ahriman and the Deevs."

"I don't know what this "_Never_world" is, but it doesn't seem a nice place to visit," she replied adjusting the special goggles on her face.

As the meter started to beep, Winston's grip on his thrower tightened as he approached Peter near the bed. Ray grabbed a small black lever on the left side of the portal's frame.

They stood still for a long moment before the meter's beeps suddenly increased in frequency and intensity. Janine's body started to glow. The precise moment the meter's indicator reached the 'Class 9' frequency, the glow became a blinding light and shapes could be seen emerging from the supine body.

"NOW!" Ray yelled at the top of his lungs, pulling the black lever to disconnect the portal's safety grid.

The modified goggles they all wore let them clearly see hundreds of entities being sucked into the dimensional portal. The light intensified as a black shape appeared, screaming. "That's Ahriman!" bellowed Peter, his thrower ready right in front of him. "Don't let the sucker escape!"

Promptly, Winston aimed at the black ghost with a low-powered stream—so as not to risk Janine being hurt-and fired in unison with Peter. The streams took the entity by surprise, sending him directly into the Netherworld. "You fools! You won't get rid of Ahriman the Almighty so easily, I-"

As quickly as Ray could, he reactivated the security grid and shut the portal off.

**xxx**

"Her vitals are strong," said Nurse Jackson. "She's about to wake up."

It took them two hours to dismantle both the Alpha wave generator and the dimensional portal. Another two hours would have gotten the machines back home again, but that didn't matter at the moment. Doctor Chant was checking on Egon's vitals. "He's gonna be fine, too."

"Hnn… my head…" muttered Janine as she tried to sit up.

"Hey, easy Big J, easy," said Peter, sitting beside her and gently ruffling her hair. "Good job."

Janine's face lit up and she hugged Peter hard with a shriek of pure joy, then let him go abruptly. "You're alive."

Peter remembered the images he'd seen on the monitor; yeah, the bastard made her believe they were all dead. "In the flesh, Melnitz. What about you?"

"I'm fine…I think," she said, feeling her fever rise.

"You gonna be fine soon," greeted Winston squeezing her hand. "You were _great_!"

"Yeah, you really kicked the bad guy's butt!" added Ray from over by Egon's bed.

Getting out of bed, she stumbled toward the bed near hers. Sitting on the opposite side of Ray, she asked, astonished, "What happened to him?"

"You forgot?" asked Ray. "Using the Alpha Wave generator, he went into the illusion Ahriman created in order to help you out."

"Why is he not waking up?"

The three Ghostbusters clearly recognized the anguished tone she held in her voice. "Stay calm, he's just tired," soothed Ray, putting an arm around her shoulder. "Everything's fine."

"Ahriman…he made me believe…that Egon had…died," she said, lowering her head and taking the blond's limp hand. "He made me believe you all had…died."

A heavy silence fell over them as the images seen on the Alpha Wave generator came back into the men's heads. "We know," said Winston dryly, "we saw it." They exchanged knowing glances.

"What do you think you're doing out of your bed, Miss?" Doctor Chant had returned into the room, a small cupful of pills in her hand. "You're not strong enough to stay up yet." As Janine obediently let Ray help her into the bed, Doctor Chant poured some water into a glass and handed it to her, together with a pink pill. "This will lower the fever," the woman gently explained. "How do you feel?"

"Like the floor of a taxi cab," a voice said from behind them.

**xxx**

**Tuesday, May 13th, 7 p.m.**

The four Ghostbusters drove Janine home from the hospital, their journey cheered by jokes and laughter. The moment Ray stopped the car in front of the block of apartments she lived in, Janine felt a wave of anxiety pass through her. She didn't want to stay alone. She hesitated for an instant, then stepped out of Ecto and onto the sidewalk. With an anxious 'goodbye', she hastily reached the main door and entered the building.

"We probably should not leave her alone," said Egon as Ray started Ecto.

"So why don't you go to her?" Peter simply stated.

"Yeah, we won't wait for you," added Ray.

"I think you both deserve some time alone with each other." Winston was wise as well as practical.

A moment later, the tall man found himself standing in front of the front door. Ecto's engine could still be overheard behind him. Extracting the keys from his jacket's pocket, he made his way to the 5th floor.

Janine had just thrown her purse on the couch when she heard the door unlock. Adrenaline made her look for a weapon; hastily she turned off the light and jumped toward the heavy clock she kept on the fireplace mantel.

"Uhm…Janine?"

"Oh, Egon!" She turned the light on again and rushed over to help the man out of his jacket. "Here, let me help you with that."

"I- I…just thought…" He lowered his eyes, a shade of bright red appearing on his face. "I…didn't want to leave you alone."

"You thought rightly," she said, kissing him lightly and enjoying the sight of his face reddening more. "Make yourself at home." As he sat on the couch, Janine disappeared into the bedroom. "Be back in a sec!" she called from behind the door.

Long minutes had passed before she came back; she had removed her make up and tied up her hair in a low ponytail. She sat beside him.

"How do you feel?" the blond asked her.

"I'm fine, really." She repressed nervous laughter, tormenting her hair with her fingers.

"You sure?" He saw her biting her bottom lip. Sliding his arm around her shoulder, he said, "Talk to me."

"It was horrible! I-" she suppressed a sob. "After you pulled me down in the lab, I felt something hot soaking my shirt. It was…blood. Then we turned you on your back and… blood was everywhere." She buried her face into a pillow. "I saw you _die_." Her petite figure shook as she cried freely. "I cried at your funeral. I saw Ahriman slaughter the guys, and-"

"I know. I saw the funeral in my dreams." Janine turned her head abruptly at his words. "A Peri made me see that; then a few hours later we found you. At first we thought you had been…raped, then…" A shadow spread over Egon's face, his eyes darkened as he methodically bottled up his emotions, as usual.

Janine had learned well to understand that look in his eyes and knew he only did that when he was really in pain. "Egon," she said, shushing him and holding him tighter, "let go. Just let it go. We're together, and that's what matters."

As they kissed, she slowly slid a suspender off his shoulder.

**xxx**

**Epilogue**

A sunny day's light gently caressed my face. As I came to my senses I felt the bittersweet taste of my man on my lips and heard his light snoring. I caressed his hair, playing with the ruined blond coil. Yes, I know he hates people messing with his hair, but you know the drill: 'to every rule there is an exception', and after all, I still can't figure out _how_ he does his 'do. This man can sometimes be a real mystery to me.

Grunting something under his breath, he stirred lightly and, without opening his eyes, he drew me closer with his good arm. "…'morning…" he mumbled, hugging me under the covers.

Yes. It really was a good morning. And we both made sure there would be several even better mornings to follow.

Fine


End file.
